There is currently no official German Government list of KC recipients. Analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) indicates that up to 7,321 awards may have been made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945.[Note 1] These recipients are listed in the 1986 edition of Walther-Peer Fellgiebel's book, Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945]. Fellgiebel was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and was also the former chairman and head of the order commission of the AKCR. In 1996, a second edition of this book was published with an addendum delisting 11 of the recipients.

In 2007, Veit Scherzer published his Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945]. Scherzer's book was compiled from documents held by the German Federal Archives, and cast doubt on 193 of the listings in Fellgiebel's 1996 book. The majority of the disputed recipients were listed as having received the award in 1945, when the deteriorating situation of the Third Reich during the final days of World War II left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process.[4]

Listed here are the 368 Knight's Cross recipients of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS whose last name is in the range "Ba–Bm".[5] Scherzer has challenged the validity of 13 of these listings.[6] This is the first of two lists of all 725 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients whose last name starts with "B". The recipients whose last name is in the range "Bn–Bz" are listed at List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients (Bn–Bz).[7]

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and for the Waffen-SS. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade.[12] Of the 368 awards made to servicemen whose last name is in the range "Ba–Bm", 31 were later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, 12 the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and one the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds; 19 presentations were made posthumously. Heer members received 232 of the medals; 15 went to the Kriegsmarine, 100 to the Luftwaffe, and 21 to the Waffen-SS.[5] The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and 143 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) and are therefore denoted in parentheses.[13] The recipients are initially ordered alphabetically by last name. The rank listed is the recipient's rank at the time the Knight's Cross was awarded.

This along with the + (plus) indicates that a higher grade of Knight's Cross was awarded as well. This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the Knight's Cross was awarded posthumously. This along with the ? (question mark) indicates that historian Veit Scherzer has expressed doubt regarding the veracity and formal correctness of the listing.

^Willy Bachor's nomination by his unit was not forwarded or may have been lost by the corps due to the military situation. A second nomination was submitted after the evacuation of East Prussia, after the German capitulation. This nomination was not processed. The order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed the case in 1982 and decided: "Knight's Cross yes, 8 May 1945". The presentation date was later changed by Walther-Peer Fellgiebel. Bachor was a member of the AKCR.[20]

^Josef Baldes's nomination by his unit was processed by the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe/Auszeichnung und Disziplin (OKL/AuD—Air Force High Command/Award and Discipline) on 16 April 1945. This nomination, now recommending approval, was forwarded on 17 April with a Luftwaffenpersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (LPA-VV—Air Force Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) Nr. 1577 to the adjutancy of Hermann Göring. The nomination was never finalized and was left unfinished by the end of the war. A presentation of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross cannot be verified. The presentation date was assigned by Walther-Peer Fellgiebel.[26]

^No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. Von Seeman stated that the tradition club of the 9. Panzer-Division informed him of the presentation of the Knight's Cross to Ludwig Bauer in 1954.[40] The I./Panzer-Regiment 33, to which the 1st company was subordinated, was destroyed on 17 April 1945 under the leadership of Hauptmann Simon in the Ruhr Pocket (Heeresgruppe B). The receipt of a nomination by his unit with the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) or the Außenstelle of the Heerespersonalamt (HPA/A—Branch of the Army Staff Office) cannot be verified. A Heerespersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (HPA-VV— Army Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) was definitely not created. Also, the responsible official at the time would have deferred the nomination from Heeresgruppe B after its capitulation after 17 April according to AHA 44 Ziff. 572. A presentation on 29 April via the HPA or the HPA/A is very unlikely. A statement provided by the first scribe of the 9. Panzer-Division from 1957 to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) is inconclusive, stating: "...I have to assume that this Knight's Cross was intended for ... Leutnant ... Bauer". Bauer is a member of the AKCR.[35]

^No evidence regarding the presentation of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross to Heinz Baurmann can be found in the German Federal Archives. According to Walther-Peer Fellgiebel the presentation was made by FeldmarschallFerdinand Schörner in compliance with the empowerment for autonomous presentations dated 3 May 1945. Authors Thomas and Wegmann mention a teleprinter message from Schörner dated 4 May 1945, which presumably verifies the claim. However, Thomas and Wegmann fail to present a reference nor do they publish the message itself.[45] Veit Scherzer was denied access to files, which could help clarify the case, of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) on the grounds of the Bundesarchivgesetz (German Archive Law). Baurmann was a member of the AKCR.[35]

^Franz Bayer's nomination by the I./Panzer-Regiment 26 was written on 1 January 1945 and was approved by the III. Panzerkorps on 11 January 1945. The Division "Feldherrnhalle" had also submitted a nomination on 25 January 1945. Both nominations were sent to the 6th Army. Here they were left unattended, later consolidated, and approved by the commander-in-chief General Hermann Balck on 15 April 1945 and then forwarded to the Army Group. This nomination was received by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) "Hauptbüro" (main office) on 28 April 1945, in this instance the 2nd squadron and not the 1st squadron. The Army Group South had made an error and wrongly addressed it to the HPA 2nd squadron. The Army Group, against regulation, had also not commented on the nomination and had explicitly mentioned this in the accompanying letter. The reason for this remains unknown. The entry date of 25 January 1945 which is noted on the file card is not the entry date but the date on which the Division "Feldherrnhalle" had created their nomination. The book "Verliehene Ritterkreuze" (Awarded Knight Crosses) does not list Bayer. No further proof that the presentation was made can be found in the archives. According to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. Bayer himself stated on 10 February 2005 that the I./Panzer-Regiment 26 had "lent" him to the Division "Feldherrnhalle" where he was deployed as a company commander. He also stated that the battalion commander had presented him a Knight's Cross in January 1945 after he had received a radio message approving the nomination.[46]

^Friedrich Behre's Luftwaffenpersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (LPA-VV—Air Force Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) Nr. 1573 was sent to the adjutancy of the ReichsmarschallHermann Göring on 14 April 1945 for further processing. This recommendation was then forwarded to the adjutancy of the "Führer" on 18 April and never returned. The nomination was never finalized and was left unfinished by the end of the war. A radio message dated on 12 May 1945 from the LPA to the Luftflotte Reich stated that Behre was awarded the Knight's Cross "on this day" and is therefore illegal.[56]

^Ernst Biehler's nomination by his unit, without the mandatory explanatory statement, was received by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) on 20 April 1945 as a teleprinter messenger. On 21 April 1945 the nomination arrived at the time 1. Squadron of the HPA was relocating. The teleprinter message indicated that the explanatory statement would follow later. This statement was either never sent, may have gotten delayed or lost, or at least does not exist anymore. Biehler was also not listed in the Knight's Cross nomination book nor was a file card created. A presentation cannot be verified in the German Federal Archives. According to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. The presentation date was assigned by Walther-Peer Fellgiebel. Biehler was a member of the AKCR.[77]

^There is no reference of the Oak Leaves awarded to Adalbert von Blanc in the German Federal Archives although his personnel file contains a letter from Admiral August Thiele indicating that von Blanc had been recommended for the Oak Leaves by Thiele. Further, a German Mine Sweeping Administration file dated just after the capitulation contains an entry reading "Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves", but does not indicate a date of the award. The sequential number "866" and date was assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Von Blanc was member of the AKCR.[77]

^There is no evidence of the award for Friedrich Blond in the German Federal Archives. Scherzer consulted Ernst-Günther Krätschmer's book Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Waffen-SS] (pages 943–946) and stated that the award was presented together with the Oak Leaves to Matthias Kleinheisterkamp. Presumably the announcement was made via radio transmission on 28 April 1945 from the Führer Headquarters in Berlin to the 9. Armee (9th Army) in the Halbe pocket. The radio transmissions received by the AOK 9 (Armeeoberkommando 9 — high command of the 9th Army) in April 1945 were not retained. All communication to the Führerbunker in Berlin was out of order as of 5 am on 28 April. The order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed the case in 1981 and decided: "Knight's Cross yes, 28 April 1945". Blond was a member of the AKCR.[88]